Not everyone gets a huge kick out of being a leap day baby

Carol Lackey owns a business, a downtown building and serves on a couple boards dealing with historic preservation in Hillsdale. And she’s only 13.

Benjamin Ray

Carol Lackey owns a business, a downtown building and serves on a couple boards dealing with historic preservation in Hillsdale.

And she’s only 13.

Well, technically, she’s 55 and will turn 56 on Friday. Lackey is one of the few known as leap day babies, those who were born on Feb. 29, which comes around once every four years.

“One person came up to me once and said, ‘I’ve never met one of you,’ like I was something bizarre,” Lackey recalled with a chuckle. “Other people make more of a deal of it than I do.”

At a certain age, celebrating a birthday becomes less of a big deal. Ask Steve Aemisegger, who was born the same day and around the same time at Hillsdale Community Health Center.

He and Lackey are friends; their mothers passed each other in the hallway on their way to give birth. Lackey is a few minutes older; she celebrates on the 28th, though, and Aemisegger celebrates on March 1.

“Everyone gets a big kick out of it,” he said. “It’s just one of those things everyone has to add. There’s nothing really special about it.”

Aemisegger is married with children and owns Hillside Lanes, which is not bad for someone turning 14. He will most likely be working Friday; Lackey isn’t sure how to spend her special day, saying she will probably just take it easy.

Some celebrate way early, such as Rebecca Tittler, who turns all of 3 (or 12) on Friday but who celebrated six days ago. Because it was a big deal, her friends and family all came over to her Wheatland Township home for a pizza party.

Rebecca was February Student of the Month at North Adams-Jerome Middle School; her parents will take her to Great Lakes Crossing mall in Auburn Hills this weekend for her birthday gift.

“I wanted a Valentine’s baby, but I got a leap year baby instead,” said Rebecca’s mother, Laura, with a smile. “She actually was the first leap day baby born that day in Jackson County.”

Hillsdale Daily News

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